My youngest stepdaughter is a huge fan of Carrie Underwood, at right in an Associated Press photo, so for her upcoming 15th birthday, she's getting tickets to see the "American Idol" songstress in concert at Reading's Sovereign Center on June 12.
The tickets were relatively inexpensive. What's upsetting is the way the ticket agencies rape their customers with added fees.

On top of the $35 ticket charge was a $9.55 "convenience" charge. Convenient for who? It's more like an "inconvenience" charge for those of us buying the tickets. And the "convenience" cost escalates a few cents depending on the cost of the ticket.

In addition to the convenience charge, I could have bought "ticket insurance" for $6 per ticket. I declined it. Yet for that additional $6, I would have gotten piece of mind that if an illness, traffic jam, or yes, even an airport delay, had caused my wife, stepdaughter and friends to miss the concert, I could have gotten my money back.

I could have had the tickets shipped several different ways -- at an exhorbitant cost to me, of course. Being able to print the tickets right away would have been a nearly $3 fee. Instead, I chose snail mail -- at no additional cost.

But I shouldn't be surprised that a business would try to nickel and dime their customers. After all, the government does it to us every day.